Car parking apparatus



April 16, 1957 D. E. GROVE 2,788,905

CAR PARKING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 24, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet l 45 INVENTOR. 44 001mm EGEOVE iorrzg D. E. GROVE CAR PARKING APPARATUS April 16, 1957 3 Sheefs-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 24, 1955 IN VII N 1 0R Down/.0 5 6/20 v5 Jzzorng April 16, 1957 D. E. GROVE 2,788,905

CAR PARKING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 24., 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet E INVEN TOR.

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United States Patent O CAR PARKING APPARATUS Donald E. Grove, Northridge, Calif. Application August 24, 1953, Serial No. 376,153

2 Claims. '(Cl. 214-95) This invention relates to car parking apparatus and more particularly to an improved traverse mechanism for moving a car from one position to another.

In the present specification and claims, the term traverse mechanism is employed as a generic expression defining a mechanism adapted to be moved under a load, elevated to lift the load, retracted to move the load to another position, lowered to place the load in the other position, and withdrawn from underneath the load. While the traverse mechanism in its preferred form is designed for moving cars from one position to another, it is to be understood accordingly, that the invention is applicable to any situation where it is desired to move any type of load from one position to another.

Various traverse mechanisms of the above nature have been proposed in the past. Some of these systems employ pulleys and cables for telescoping out a main carriage member adapted to fit beneath a car, lift the car, and move the car to another position. Such traverse mechanisms are useful in craneway elevators employed in multiple story, cell type car parking systems, although they may be used, if desired, as asimple conveying means for transporting a car from one position to another at the same level.

It is extremely important in the design of such traverse mechanisms that the overall vertical dimension be less than the distance between the bottom of the car and the ground in order that the supporting or main carriage member may be easily projected under the car. Further, it is important that the main carriage member be capable of sufficient travel beyond the ends of the platform or elevator supporting the traverse mechanism, to properly engage the underside of a car parked oif of the platform.

The present invention has its primary object the provision of a vastly improved type of traverse mechanism in which the vertical dimensions are kept to a minimum and in which the main carriage or pickup member may travel a relatively greater distance beyond the end of the stationary supporting platform than has heretofore been possible in prior traverse mechanisms.

A further object is to provide a traverse mechanism employing a reliable positive acting mechanism for telescoping out and retracting the main carriage.

A more particular object is to provide positive acting gears and racks for moving the various carriages and holding them in given positions.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dispensing device in combination with the traverse mechanism for supplying hydraulic fluid to the elevating mechanism portion of the main carriage at any position of the main carriage even though the dispensing apparatus is held in a stationary position.

These and further objects and advantages of the present invention are attained by providing a novel traverse mechanism positively driven by gears and racks. In a preferred embodiment, two roller supported carriages, a first or outer carriage, and a second or inner carriage, are provided, the inner carriage being receivable in a Patented Apr. 16, 1957 channel or tunnel extending through the lower portion of the outer carriage. These carriages roll on a platform which may be mounted on, or form a part of the usual elevator means for lifting an automobile or other article to be stored. Gear and rack means are provided for extending the inner carriage, and additional gear and rack means are provided for simultaneously extending the outer carriage from the inner carriage. Thus a substantial projection of the outer carriage is achieved by positive driving mechanism.

The main carriage includes car lifting means adapted to be vertically elevated therefrom by a suitable hydraulic system. To supply the hydraulic system with fluid, there is provided a flexible line connected thereto at a first end and passing into a stationary housing for a dispensing device. It will be clear that the line should be maintained taut regardless of the position of the main carriage to prevent tangling of the line with the mechanism. In order to accomplish this, the dispensing apparatus includes a sheave about the periphery of which the hy-' draulic line is adapted to be wound. A biasing spring tends to rotate this sheave in such a direction as to wind in the hydraulic line but is of sufficient resiliency to permit the hydraulic line to be withdrawn against the bias of the spring. The hydraulic line is therefore always maintained in tension and the possibility of the line becoming tangled up in the traverse mechanism is avoided.

A preferred construction for the traverse mechanism and the hydraulic line dispensing unit will be readily understood by referring to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the traverse mechanism employed on a crane or elevator useful in mechanical type cell car parking systems;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the traverse mechanism taken in the direction of the arrows 22 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the mechanism partly cut away to show various components of the apparatus;

Fig. 5 is another plan view on a smaller scale showing the relative positions which may be assumed by the outer. carriage and the hydraulic line system used for actuating the elevating mechanism;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view partly in section of that portion of the dispensing apparatus enclosed in the circle 6 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the dispensing apparatus taken in the direction of the arrows 77 of Fig. 6.

Referring now to Fig. 1, there is generally indicated at 10 a conventional crane or elevator adapted to move vertically, as indicated by the arrows, to lift and deposit various loads such as automobiles to stalls 11 or 12 disposed on opposite sides of the craneway shaft. Such constructions are employed in known types of mechanical parking systems, and reference is here made to copending application Serial No. 376,152, now Patent No. 2,714,456, filed August 24, 1953 by Carlisle F. Manaugh and entitled Car Parking System as an example of such a parking system. The means for elevating the elevator is not shown, as it may be entirely conventional.

Mounted on the elevator 10 is the traverse mechanism T, comprising generally a lifting or outer carriage 13,

carrying a relatively heavy hydraulically elevated carlifting plate 14, which may be equipped with any desired pads or devices, not shown, for direct engagement withthe underside of the car, and an actuating or inner earriage 15 beneath and telescopically received within a channel or tunnel formed on the underside of the outer carriage 13. The elevator 10 comprises a level platform 16 adapted to be positioned flush with the floors of the stallsll and 12 (Fig. 1), and the inner and outer carriages are equipped with sets of rollers 17 and 18, respectively; which roll on'th'e' platforms 16 and ofi onto the floors ot the-stalls;

The platform 16 may be variously fabricated, but is shown in Figs. 2 and 4 as comprising a flat top plate 19 and suitable-end chan'nelssuch as20so as'to foi'm'a shallow box structure. This platform also includes parallel channels 21' as-shown clearly'in Fig; 3'fo'1 support ofi'a certainlater described drive shaft. I

Mounted-on the top plate-19 of platform 16' are two' parallelfixed racks 22 and 23 whose teeth face horizontally' outwardly in opposite directions, for a reason which i will become clear as" the descriptionproceeds; Mounted on and along-opposite longitudinaledges' of the inner carriage 15, between the rollers 17, are horizon tally dis-"- posedeidlergears 24,4113: gears along opposite edges of the i carriage engaging athe aforementioned fixed racks 22 and-23, respectively: a a

Asshown clearly in Figs. 2 and-4, the-main or outercarriage-13 comprises a fiat plate member 25, somewhat narrower than 'the-plate- 14, and provided along its longitudinal edges with downwardly turned flanges 26:- The main carriage rollers id are accommodated in the space under the edge portions of'the car lifting plate 14, be" tween :the edges of the lattervand the flanges'26; and the axles 27 forthe rollers are tightly mounted in flanges 26 and'support plates 28-welded in position inside the flanges 26." 'A' structural member 29' of s shaped section is weldedg'or otherwise afiixed to the inside of each flange 26' and the underside of the flat member 25. ThisS- shaped member 29;cradles suitable hydraulic cylinders 30 having pistons 31- projectiri'g through suitable'opening s" in plate-25 to support the plate 14 and' to lift it to the position shown in phantom lines.

The inneror actuating-carriage 15 comprises a flat top member 32 having longitudinal downturned side flanges t 33'for mountin'g the rollers 17; The rollers '17 are rotatably mounted 'onaxles 34 set tightly" into flanges-33 -and into the outer ends of brackets 35 mounted on flanges 33 V as shown clearly in Fig. 4. In the left-hand portion'of the cross-sectional View of Fig. 2; the side flanges are" shown as provided with gaps 36 to accommodate the idlergears 24. This construction ismore clearly shown in the cut-away plan view of Fig. 4.

As shown in Figs '2 and 4, the idler gears'24 are mountedfor rotation on vertical axes on supports 37 rigidly atfixed to and projecting laterally from theinner carriage 15; These gears mesh with the fixed racks 22 and.23 as shown and also mesh with racks 38 and '39 welded or afiixed'to the S-shape members 29 of the outer or lifting carriage.

Welded or otherwise secured to the-underside ofcarriage "15, andpositioned immediately alongside the rearward edge'of fixed rack 23,is a-rack 40,'whoseteeth face "away from the rack 23 and are in mesh 'witli a drivingagear. 41; A guiderail 42" is similarly mounted 'on V theiunderside'of carriage 15, in closed spaced relation to-the rearward .edge of fixed rack 22 Theme fixed racks'23 and 22twill be'seen to form a'guidewayfor these parts 40 and'42 of the inner carriage; It shouldbe-noted that the horizontal idler gears'24 of the'inner carriage-15,v meshing with the fixed 'racks'22 and '23;

establish the proper lateral positioning'and longitudinal guiding of'the inner carriage 'as the latter isextended and retracted. However, as the extreme extension of the car riages is approached, the outer carriage racks 38 and '39 are finally in mesh with 'only'two of the idler gears' 24,-

one on each side, and at such -timea degree of lateral stability-is'lost and additional longitudinal-guiding is? desirable: The inside edges of the racks zzand '23 at thistime-coact with-the opposed surfaces ofthe'inner carriage rack 40 and guide rail 42 to fulfill this "additionalguiding function. r

The driving gearAl; as shown clearlyin Fig. i3, is-' mount'edon the'upperen'd of ashaft43; journalle'd'at the bott'omin a step'bearing 44 carried by a plate' 45" fastened to the bottom of member 46 secured to the flanges-of channels'zl'; Belowgear 4-1', there-is provided" a bearing 47 carried by a plate 48 mounted atop the upper flanges of channels 21. On this shaft 43 are pulleys 49 connected by belts 50 to driving pulleys 51 driven by a hydraulic motor 52 fixed on the top member 19 of the platform. The same source of hydraulic fluid (not shown) supplying the motoriz' niay be used to operate the hydraulic cylinders for raisingthe plate, 14 on the lifting or outer carriage by way' of a hydraulic line 53 from a dispensing apparatus154 -housed within? the platform 16. I V r 7 Referring *to 'Figs: 3a'nd 4; :two' auxiliary gears"'55"and 56 are preferably used along7withthetrnain driving gear 41, being driven in the same direction of rotation as gear 41 through smaller idler gears 57 and 58, respectively. These auxiliary and idler gears are supported on shafts journalled ,in bearing supports in the plate 48; as shown inFigJZi: The auxiliary'gears' andf5', together with main"gear 41, mesh with'therack 40' fixed to the inner carriage" 1 5; This:arrangement perrnits the" inner carriage 15 to' be moved slightlybeyond the center point oftheplatforrri 16 and still remain in engagementwith' the drivingmeans. Similarly; lIlg'VlGW of theflprovisi'on ofthfee idlei gears 24 secured to each sideof the"inn'e'r carriage 15, the outer carri'ag'e 13 and its racks 38-ahd39 maybe moved past the center line of the inner carriage 15 'withoutthe rack's"38 and 39 di's'engagingjall"Ofthe' idler'gea'rs; Thus, theouter carriage -13 and the elevating plate 14 may be projectedbut'fbeyond theend' of the fixed platform 16': It wil1 b'e evident from the 'sy m metry of the mechanisnifa's shown-in Fig; 4; that the miter carriage-13" and the inner carriage 15 maybe projected in either direction *with -re sp'ect to the 'fixed platform): Thus, both of the Samar awfu -maybe; serviced These relative movements of the outer carriage '13 and plateuriember- 14 are shown in *the reduced pla'n view of- Fig'ki 5, the -ou'ter carriafge" being shovviiiin solidi lines completely within the stall 11. Its alternate project ed" positionis' completely -withiii*th'e stall 12' as indicated by the phantom lines.

In order to elevate the plate member 14 by the hydraue lic pistons 31 the'hydraulic fluid line 53'is' adapted tribe dispensed from dispensing apparatus 54 locatedvt ithin thefixed platform 16 to the side" of the traverse mocha t nismr In view of the-relatively large movement of the Wound. 'This sheave is preferahly rnade of sufiicient'diam- I eter so that it may accommodate sutfi'c ieht windings of the line thereabout to provide-a line length accommodating the motion of the carriage 13' from its center position 7 on the fixed platform 16'-'toits furthermost position in eith'e'rthe stallllor'thestallliZ. r

As shown more clearly'in Fig; 7, oneforin of sheave may be provided with a triple 'gtoovedpeliphery accom J moda'tingthree turns of thehydraulic line; Theinner end of the'hydra'ulic lineterrni'nates at the centerof the sheave in a-swivel joint 62 -adapted to be connected to thehydraulic source supplying-hydraulic mo'tor52'through- .a corinecringgline 63"(Fig. 5). The shea've'is'preferably spring loaded as by a spiral spring 64-fixed-to'th sheave shaft65 at one end I and 'to'-' the side of uiesheave 63 at the-other. The spring is-biased sueh 'as'to tend to wind the hydraulic lineonto-the sheave."

The operation of the traverse mechanism "will be clear fronrthe above description; Bri'efl-y, areenter carriage and the inner carriage in normal position are nested together to lie directly over the fixed platform 16. The elevator or crane may then move vertically or horizontally to positions opposite the various stalls. When it is desired to pick up an automobile, the hydraulic motor 52 rotate the main driving gear 41 through the pulleys 49 and 51. Rotation of the gear 41 and auxiliary gears 55 and 56 in the clockwise direction, for example, will cause the outer carriage to move into the stall 11. This is accomplished as follows:

Rotation of the gears 41, S5, and 56 in the clockwise direction moves the inner carriage in the direction of the arrow as viewed in Fig. 4, due to the meshing engagement of these gears with the rack 40, the rack 40 being rigidly secured to the inner carriage 15. This movement of the carriage 15 in turn causes rotation of the idler gears 24 due to their meshing engagement with the racks 22 and 23 rigidly secured to the fixed platform 16. The direction of rotation of the idler gears 24 is as indicated by the arrows. Rotation of the idler gears 24 in turn causes the main carriage 13 to move outwardly due to the engagement of these idler gears with racks 38 and 39. It will be immediately evident in view of this arrangement that the outer carriage 13 moves twice as far with respect to the fixed platform 16 as the inner carriage 15. Further, because of the use of three driving gears 41, 55, and 56, and three idler gears 24 on each side of the inner carriage 15, the inner carriage may be moved beyond the center point of the fixed platform 16; and similarly, the outer carriage 13 may be moved beyond the center point of the inner carriage 15. This means that with respect to the fixed platform 16, the outer carriage 13 may be moved completely into the stall 11 as shown in full lines in Fig. 5.

It will also be evident from the above that rotation of the driving gear 41 in an opposite direction will cause the auxiliary driving gears 55 and 56 to rotate in opposite directions to retract the main carriage 13 and move it into the stall 12.

If there is a car in the stall 11 which is to be removed, the hydraulic feed line 53 feeds hydraulic fluid to the elevating pistons 31 to elevate the plate member 14 and lift the car free of the floor of the stall 11. The main driving gear 41 and auxiliary gears 55 and 56 are then reversed in direction of rotation by a reversal of the hy draulic motor 52 to retract the outer carriage 13 to a position above the platform 16. Alternatively, if it is desired to move the car from stall 11 to stall 12, this reversed direction of rotation of the main driving gear 41 may be continued to carry the main carriage 13 past the fixed platform 16 into the stall 12.

Assuming, however, it is desired to remove the car from stall 11 to a ground level or to a stall higher in position, the outer carriage 13 is stopped in a position directly over the fixed platform 16 and the elevator or crane 10 moved to the desired new location. When the elevator has arrived at its new position, the outer carriage 13 may be again extended to carry the car to a Suitable driveway or further parking stall and the hydraulic means actuated to lower the plate member 14 and release the car. The main driving gear 41 is then again reversed to retract the outer carriage 13 out from under the car. The outer carriage is again brought back into a centered position over the fixed platform 16 and the elevator is then free to move another car to another position.

It is to be noted that due to the horizontal position of the various gears and racks, a minimum of vertical space is needed to accommodate the various telescoping carriages. Further, the use of gears and racks insures a positive motion to the traverse mechanism in either direction.

Various modifications of the present invention will occur to those skilled in the art. The traverse mechanism is therefore not to be thought of as limited to the precise construction shown.

I claim:

1. In a car parking apparatus, a traverse mechanism adapted to move an article from one position to another comprising in combination: an outer carriage including a lifting means and having supporting rollers, said carriage and lifting means being adapted to move under the article; an inner carriage including supporting rollers and adapted to telescope within said outer carriage; a platform upon which said rollers ride; a driving gear means mounted on said platform; said inner carriage including a rack fixed thereto meshing with said driving gear means; at least one idler pinion rotatably mounted on said inner carriage; a fixed rack on said platform meshing with one side of said idler pinion; and a rack fixed to said outer carriage meshing with the other side of said idler pinion said driving gear means comprising a main pinion rotatable on a fixed axis on said platform; two auxiliary driving pinions coplanar and in alinement with said main pinion and the direction of travel of said inner carriage; and idler gears disposed respectively between said main driving pinions and said auxiliary pinions, said auxiliary pinions being adapted to mesh with said one rack fixed to the inner carriage, whereby said inn-er carriage may travel beyond the midpoint of said platform with at least one of said driving pinions in engagement with said one rack fixed to the inner carriage.

2. In article handling apparatus, a traverse mechanism adapted to move an article from one position to another comprising in combination: an outer article lifting and transporting carriage having supporting rollers, an inner carriage having supporting rollers and arranged to telescope within said outer carriage, a platform upon which said carriages are normally supported and beyond the boundaries of which they may be extended along a given direction line, a driving pinion mounted on said platform, a rack gear fixed to said inner carriage in parallelism with said direction line meshing with said driving pinion, a pair of stationary parallel racks with outwardly facing gear teeth secured to said platform in parallelism with said direction line of carriage travel, a pair of parallel rack gears with inwardly facing gear teeth mounted on said lifting carriage in opposition to said stationary rack gears, and a plurality of idler pinions rotatably mounted on said inner carriage and spaced longitudinally in two rows along opposite sides of said inner carriage so as to extend beyond the midpoint of the latter, said idler pin ions meshing with both said fixed rack gears and said rack gears mounted on said lifting carriage, said two rows of longitudinally spaced idler gears linearly guiding said outer carriage and also permitting travel of the outer carriage beyond the midpoint of the inner carriage.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,065,108 Turner et a1 Dec. 22, 1936 2,324,817 Bratley July 20, 1943 2,457,366 Guerin Dec. 28, 1948 2,493,493 Mariano Ian. 3, 1950 2,626,065 Sanders et a1. Jan. 20, 1953 

